When The World Is Wanting

Opening Remarks and Introduction

Tonight, we’ll finish up the Christmas Lights sermon series by looking at the world and what it wants. Much of this series has looked at how others can affect our celebration. With Christmas Eve and Christmas Day both behind us, much of the busy-ness of Christmas is in the past.

Did any of you hear the question, “What do you want for Christmas?” Did anyone ask that to someone else? It seems like every year I’m asking that question to one person or another because I don’t know what everyone wants.

In our lesson tonight, we heard about Simeon and what He wanted. He didn’t realize it was Christmas, but he wanted something too. He wanted to see the savior… and that’s exactly what he got. Tonight, I want to take a look at the wants that are in and around our lives. We’ll take a look at:

- What the world wants

- What God wants for us

and

- What we should seek

1. What does the world want?

So, what does the world want? Outside the church, it’s interesting to see what the world runs towards. It’s not always a rush for peace on earth, but more often than not, it’s a mob moving towards the sales of the day.

For some, the mad dash for holiday gifts is what they want. There’s something about a sale that seems to drive some people crazy. Have you ever been in a store during Black Friday? Something takes over some people to get the latest and greatest deals. The day after Thanksgiving, people line up outside stores… sometimes for hours… waiting for the doors to open. Once they open, crowds push, pull and sometimes even trample others to get to the latest and greatest sales.

Part of the reason for all of the pushing and shoving probably has to do with time. There doesn’t seem to be enough of it. With Christmas comes extra shopping, cookies to bake, events to attend, and even decorations to hang. Each of these can be pretty fun. But, the same demands of work, school and family are still there. For some, the pressures of time are immense and people look for anyway they can to shave a few moments off of their schedule.

With so many wanting to buy something, it’s not uncommon to see some people cut in long lines to reduce their own wait time. Of course, the side effect is that someone else has to wait a bit longer. The world is not concerned about someone else’s time.

Another problem is traffic and finding a parking spot at a crowded shopping center. Some drivers might choose to grab the first spot they find, no matter who may be waiting for it, no matter who is inconvenienced. The world is not all that interested in making room for someone else.

With all the pressures of attending holiday events, and buying gifts, there just doesn’t seem to be enough patience to help others. The hustle and bustle of the season can sometimes make peace a thing of the past. Sometimes the world needs to slow down to allow people time to breath. Too much to do, and everything is a priority.

The world wants everyone else to get out of the way. It’s not patient. It’s not kind. It’s not fair. It has no time for anyone because it’s too concerned about itself.

2. What does God want for us?

But not everyone is concerned only about themselves. In our lesson tonight, we heard about Simeon and what he wanted.

He wanted to see a savior that would console Israel. He wanted to see a time when the Gentiles would understand the glory of God. Simeon wanted to see God’s plan unfold. He wanted to see what God wants for us.

What He really wanted to see, was the coming of the Christ… or like every kid in America before opening gifts, He waited anxiously for Christmas to come.

To really understand what that means, we have to go back to the very beginning. We have to go back to the Garden of Eden to see what God wants for us.

Shortly after Adam and Eve stumbled, and committed that very first sin, God had a plan. In Genesis chapter 3, the serpent talks to Eve and convinces her to eat the forbidden fruit. Then she gives the fruit to Adam and they both break God’s law.

Following that first sin, God confronts the serpent, Adam and Eve. To Eve, He gives pain in childbirth. To Adam, He give hard work of the land. But it isn’t all bad news. God also announces that a savior would defeat the serpent. Genesis 3:15 reads “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, CSB)